The Ultimate Guide to Creating Your Own Wigs

I am back with another in-depth step by step tutorial. In this article, I will show you how to make some of the most fly wigs and then secure them properly.

I’m going to give you all the tea on how to construct a custom wig that fits, doesn’t give you a headache and is adjustable. These wigs will look so natural people will be asking how you grew your hair so fast!

Wig Making Mistakes

Before we get started on how to make a wig, let me tell you about a mistake I made. I can be impatient with things, and constructing a wig is one. I have a unit right now that is layered right, colored right, but doesn’t fit right! Although I was so excited to make it, the wig was too small.

Now I know how to make one correctly and I've stopped skipping steps when I’m in a rush. My point is to take your time and complete all the steps. If you start to get confused just stop and re-think what you are doing. You know what you have to do! It’s time to press play on your Bruno Mar’s playlist, and let's get started.

We’re in this together so if you have any questions don’t hesitate to comment below.

Measuring Your Head

Let's go over how to measure your head to make a proper fitting wig. Having a wig fit securely will be an important step in the wig making process.

Supplies:

Spandex cap

White pencil

Measuring tape

Some spandex caps stretch and you don’t have to worry about sizing your head to ensure your wig fits.

I like to still get my measurements just in case I need to make a wig and need to have specific measurements. The last wig I made (you know the story I told you at the beginning of this article) is the last time I am going to make a wig too small for my head (no I don’t have a big ole’ head). I want to help you make the best wig ever so I am going to share with you how to measure your head to get the proper fit for your wig.

Make sure you have all the supplies listed above. To measure correctly make sure you style your hair in the way you will wear it when you are wearing your wigs. This means you will need to go ahead and create your foundation braids before you take your measurements.

If you slick your hair down with eco-style gel go ahead and style it this way to ensure you get the proper measurements. Put on your spandex cap on correctly and smooth out any buckling.

Head Measurements

Your first measurement will be the circumference of your head. Take your measuring tape and wrap it around the perimeter of your head.

Write down the number where both ends of the measuring tape meet. Your leave out area of your spandex cap will not need to be a part of the measurements you take if you are planning to create a u-part wig.

For a u-part wig, you will need to measure the points where your leave out will be. The measuring tape ends won’t meet because you will have your own hair out which will leave a space in the spandex cap.

Use a white pencil to mark your spandex cap for the u-part wig and write down your measurements. The second measurement you will take is from the forehead to the nape of the head. For this measurement, you will take your measuring tape from the hairline straight back to the neck. Write down the measurement, so you don’t forget it.

The third measurement is from the top of your right ear, over the crown of your head, and to the top of the left ear. Think of this measurement as the tape measurer creating a headband. You know what to do at this point, write the measurement down so you don’t forget it. These are the three most important measurements for you to take.

Congratulations! You just finished taking your measurements, and from this point forward we say “NO” to poor fitting wigs!

How to Make a Custom Sized Foam Head

This next task is so much fun so you will need to switch up your playlist for this one. Go ahead and press play on your Erykah Badu playlist and let's get it popping!

Are you stretching your spandex caps and pinning them on your foam heads to make sure it's the right size? No more of that now that I'm about to give you another hack to make your life so much easier!

Let's say you have a foam head and you want to make it the size of your head. Creating a custom-sized head makes it easier for you to create your wigs. With this customized foam head, you just slip a spandex cap on and get to making your wig. Go ahead and grab up your supplies and let's get started.

Get your measurements, your styrofoam head, and your clear packaging tape (get it from the Dollar Tree for just a buck). Draw a line around the circumference of your styrofoam head. This line will serve as a marker for your tape when you start applying it.

Grab your clear packing tape and begin to wrap it around the circumference of the styrofoam head. The tape, when wrapped around the head, will look like a headband. Make sure you stop after a few times of wrapping the tape and take your measurement. The circumference of the taped styrofoam head will match the circumference measurement you have for your head.

Use the packaging tape to fill in the rest of the foam head because you want to get your foam head’s forehead to nape measurement to match your forehead to nape measurement. Pay close attention to NOT overlap any of the tapes on the circumference of the foam head because this can cause your wig to be too big.

There you go! You are ready to start making your wig! Make sure you share this article out if this a tip you want to share with your friends. Tag us in the photo as well so we can see, Instagram @privatelabelextensions! We would appreciate it.

How to Bleach Your Knots

The next important step in creating any wig is to bleach the knots on your frontal. When using a frontal to create a wig make sure to bleach knots to make it look realistic. You want your frontal to look realistic and as natural as possible.

Mix the bleach and your developer until it is thick. The mix should resemble cake frosting consistency. You don’t want it runny because you are bleaching the knots and not the hair. If you aren’t careful, you may color the roots, and that's not what you want!

Flip your frontal over with the lace facing up. Place a cloth underneath the lace edge to catch any bleaching product that may drip through the exposed lace which has no hair and lightly apply your bleaching product on it. Avoid pressing the product into the lace. Instead, use a dabbing motion.

Bleach the entire lace even though you’re going to trim it. This ensures your lace is all one even color. Let the bleaching product sit for around 30-40 minutes. Keep a close eye on it to make sure it lightens to the desired color you’re looking for.

Once it has processed for the right amount of time, rinse the product out of your frontal, condition it with your Organix coconut conditioner, shampoo with your favorite shampoo, and condition one more time. You should condition the frontal twice because you just used bleach on the hair and it needs extra tender love and care because it is harsh on the hair.

After you condition and shampoo, the frontal blow-dry your frontal or let it air dry.

Continue to style the rest of your unit just how you want!

3 Wigs You Can Make With Ease

Now that you have all the important basics to making a wig lets get to making them! I am including three different versions so that you can choose whether all or one is best for you. So let's get into the first wig.

How To Make A Full Wig With Extensions (no frontal or closure)

For the first wig, I recommend you use my favorite Private Label Extensions Brazilian Kinky Curly Hair. Here is what you will need to make this wig:

Now that you have everything you need let's go into how to make this wig!

Wrap a plastic bag around your foam head and place your spandex cap on top of the plastic bag inside out. CAUTION! The glue gun and glue is hot so be careful. Glue some of your extensions around the perimeter of the cap.

Flip the cap back over and glue the extensions in a circular motion. As you complete the wig, you will have a bare space at the mid-crown of the foam head. If you want your wig to be fuller, go back in and add more hair. I love big hair so you know I'm adding more to mine.

As you get to the center area, cut your extensions to fit in the space still applying in a circular pattern. As space gets smaller cut your extensions smaller and places them piece by piece in a circular motion. Make sure your wefts are pointing inward toward the center of the wig. It’s easy to get impatient but don't! This will be so worth it!

Keep gluing in small pieces until you have covered the cap completely. If you see any white glue just use regular hair glue to cover it or if it gets on any of the extensions gently pull it out of them.

Pull the bag off the foam head and then remove it from the inside of your wig. You will have to peel it off, but it should come off easily.

Shampoo and condition your wig. Allow it to air dry, and you are ready for your date, work, or a night out with the girls.

How To Make A Wig With A Frontal and Extensions

For my ladies who love rocking frontals this wig is just for you! I'm going to give you all the instructions for making a wig with a frontal. Here is what you will need:

Now that you have everything you need let's go into how to make this wig!

Bleach your knots on your frontal using the instructions above.

Place your spandex cap on your styrofoam head sized for your head.

Flip the edge of your cap over onto the top of the cap. The edge is the thicker portion of the cap that usually rests on your forehead. I like to pre-thread my needles first. It helps to keep me going so when I do need to re-thread any needles I can use that time as my break.

Okay, it’s time to get to sewing! Take your frontal and place it on your capped styrofoam head. If you want to verify your measurements first, you can put the cap on your head and mark the top of your ears with a white pencil. Once you place it on your head, it will be easy for you to put your frontal in the correct place and pin it in place on each side. Make sure the front of your frontal is flush with the edge of the cap. The baby hairs should not be on the cap but in front of the cap.

Once you pin it correctly, gather all of the hair and tie it up and away so you can see your lace when you sew it to the cap. At the ear area, make sure you leave a little lace on the sides to sew your frontal. You want to avoid damaging the lace where the hair is so this helps to secure your frontal without tearing it.

Stitch the corner of the frontal and continue sewing using the loop and pull method sewing away from you. In this method, you will take your needle through the frontal, and the cap leaves and bring the needle and thread through the loop to secure your extension. Sew both sides down. Making sure your stitches are close together to prevent buckling.

Now we’re going to go ahead and sew the back of the frontal down. Here, you will pull your cap a little to remove any buckling you see as you are sewing the frontal. This sewing technique is perfect for a great fitting wig so take your time and don’t get frustrated! As you are sewing, your thread should follow your needle. Remember to keep your stitches close and tight and keep stitching away from you.

After entirely sewing your frontal down, begin sewing your extensions in the back. Making a knot at the end of the weft and then take your needle and thread through the weft. Take the needle and thread through the cap and make a knot.

Now start sewing in your extensions by taking the thread around the weft and through the cap. It's like creating an enclosure for the wefts. Do not take the needle through the weft but around the weft and through the cap.

As you get to the lace of the frontal, take the needle and thread through the lace make a knot and continue sewing in your extensions going around the weft and through the cap. Your corners are your anchors. If you run out of thread while you are sewing in your extensions, knot it and cut off the excess.

Go ahead and knot your thread and sew through the weft and the cap with your first stitch and knot it. Then take it around the weft and through the cap and knot it. Creating the knots anchors the weft again as well as the thread to provide a solid foundation for the extensions. After your first stitch, however, you can continue with your regular stitch.

As you get to the top of your head and back crown area, space your wefts out to reduce bulkiness in the top. Once you get to the top, you are going to sew your weft and frontal together. You can either cut out the extra part of the spandex cap (and install a strap in the back of the wig) or leave it in. Honestly, my wigs always feel more secure with the cap attached on the inside. It's up to you, but I do not want to see any videos of your wig falling off your head because you didn't' secure it correctly!

Add a strap (you can get the black elastic band from Walmart or JoAnn's) sew one end of the strap behind the ear tabs. Sew it in, so it's secure but not too tight.

I would say "now wasn't that easy," but I know it wasn't. You did that, and I am proud of you! Make sure you share your wig on Instagram and tag us @privatelabelextensions!

How To Create A 360 Frontal Wig

A 360 frontal wig is everything! Can you say "ponytails, updos, and buns on fleek"? I am so excited about this wig so let's get into it!

I'm going to let you choose your playlist this time so make sure it's upbeat and fun!

Supplies

Styrofoam head

Spandex cap

T pins

Clips

Scissors

Comb

Needle

Thread

20” bundles (3) Grab your PLE bundles and frontal here

360 frontal

You have everything you need so let's jump into making this bomb wig!

To get started bleach the frontal first.

After you have dried it, section the frontal and clip the hair to keep it up and out of the way. Put the frontal on and adjust it to make sure the fit is correct or place it on your customized styrofoam head and adjust as needed.

Pin your frontal to the styrofoam head and cut off the excess lace. As you sew it down, overlap any excess inches to make the frontal the right circumference. Sew down the frontal securely.

Sew in single wefts, using the fold-over sew in method, starting at the back of the head. To double up your wefts (which I suggest for the center of the head only) just pin down your weft, grab your second weft and start sewing both of them together through the weft and cap. As you get closer to the frontal anchor your stitches onto the lace to make it all one smooth unit.

Knot your extensions twice at the end to make sure your extensions are secure and won't become loose as you wear it. I suggest you leave the cap in for a snug fit.

You have everything you need to slay your wigs and look good while you're doing it! Make sure you order your Private Label Extensions so you can be cute by next weekend!

Which wig will you be making? Let us know in the comments below and remember to share this article with your friends!